1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to visible lighting systems, and more specifically, to an illumination and entertainment device producing illumination via light guiding and scattering.
2. Background of the Invention
Visible light displays and illumination systems are in use in a multitude of applications. Illuminators or illuminated sculptures are used to decorate and sometimes illuminate rooms in private and public places, to provide decorative and sometimes functional lighting.
Visible light displays provide a medium for artistic expression and new visible light displays that may be adapted to various two or three-dimensional expressions are in great demand. Hand-held visible light devices are also very popular so that users may express and even identify themselves by moving or holding such device.
Existing visual displays and illuminators using optical guiding techniques fall into many categories, but all of them typically use a guide terminated in an emitting surface that emits the light at an end of the guide to launch an illuminating beam. For example, optical fiber lamps are formed with a cut end or a lens-shaped termination at the end of the optical fiber. End-termination provides a light source that is only visible from a limited angle determined by the specific numerical aperture of the fibers in the bundle and that provides an illuminating beam generally limited to one general direction.
Chemical or other light wands as are sold at festivals and popular music concerts may be terminated with a cut or lens, or they may have a matte projector, but they typically do not incorporate a guide, and thus suffer a loss in illumination due to the need to make their outer illuminating surface opaque enough to hide their illumination source, or the illumination source is rendered visible. For example, a flashlight equipped with a semi-transparent wand end such as toy xe2x80x9clight sabersxe2x80x9d does not include an optical guide, but merely a semi-opaque projection screen that may be cylindrical in shape.
In order to produce a more pleasant illumination while avoiding visibility of the illumination source (such as a light bulb filament), solutions exist such as frosting the inner surface of a light bulb or fixture, or indirect illumination techniques may be used, completely masking the source of the illumination. All of these solutions are limited by the arrangements described as artistic lighting effects generated by a bulb matte surface or an indirectly illuminated surface are limited.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a new visible lighting apparatus for illumination and entertainment display that guides light into a display where the light may be scattered in an entertaining form, is visible from wide angles, and has an intense appearance.
The above objective of providing a new visible lighting apparatus is accomplished by a method and apparatus for illumination and entertainment via scattered visible light. The apparatus includes an illumination source, a guide for guiding a beam from the illumination source and one or more emitting surface for producing an illuminated body from the illumination source by scattering the guided beam. The emitting surface may be included within the guide, disposed on a surface of the guide, attached to the end of the guide, or a combination of emitting surfaces may be incorporated within one embodiment of the present invention.
The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular, description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.